Syrian capital rocked by explosions but no immediate word on source or target of attacks

BEIRUT — The sound of repeated explosions could be heard in the area around the Syrian capital before dawn on Sunday, state media and Damascus residents said.

There was no immediate statement from government officials on the source or target of the attack. Similar incidents in the past have usually been attributed to Israeli airstrikes, with Syrian air defenses responding to shoot down the missiles.

Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion came from a warehouse storing rockets for Iran-backed militias, though it could not confirm whether it was an Israeli strike . The Observatory said it was still unclear if anyone was wounded or killed in the explosion.

The most recent reported Israeli strike was on Aug. 7, when Syrian state media reported airstrikes in areas around Damascus, killing at least four Syrian army soldiers. The Observatory has said those strikes targeted weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus.

Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in its neighbor, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.

Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past few years, often putting it out of commission.